This came up in the movie quote thread. Bill Paxton is at the very least a decent actor. Apollo 13 and A Simple Plan spring to mind. But man has that guy been in some crappy movies. I know not every movie can be the hit that the studios project it to be, but it seems that there are certain actors who have shown they are talented and yet will appear in anything. Any thoughts? Disagreements? Additions to the list? Proclamations of undying love for Mighty Joe Young?
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
Tim Robbins.
I loved him in Shawshank, The Hudsucker Proxy and others, but he's got some duds. There was that one thriller with Jeff Bridges, I think. Can't remember the name just now. The worst so far (that I've seen) has to be Mission to Mars. I am very easily amused and can usually find some redeeming qualities in any movie, but I hated, HATED Mission to Mars.
Posted by Wussy Actor (Member # 5937) on :
Yeah, Arlington Road was pretty awful. But I attribute that more to Jeff Bridges than Tim Robbins.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
i saw a random vampire movie on bravo or amc or something this weekend, called Lost Souls. It had Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Carey Elwes, Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins in it. All of whom are actors i enjoy, despite Keanu's 20 questions, and Winona's constant teariness.
That said, it was a horrible movie. THe director must have changed scripts halfway through, becasue there was no way the beginning related to the end, other than the simple coincidence that one of the characters was present in both.
If you switched halfway through to Lost Souls, which also stars Ryder, then no wonder you were confused!
[ November 26, 2003, 08:31 AM: Message edited by: Icarus ]
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Bruce Willis is a great actor who does a lot of garbage. His contract seems to require that he do two lousy movies for every good one.
Keanu Reeves isn't quite as good, but his talents are overshadowed by the fact that it seems as though he turns nothing down.
Cuba Gooding, jr is, in my opinion, a fantastic actor, but he is in many awful movies, often requiring him to play the Hysterical Black Man for comic effect. He has had very few roles worthy of him, and I have often wondered if maybe Hollywood only has room for one black Star at a time, and that's (the equally talented) Denzel Washington.
Speaking of, Whoopi Goldberg has shown she can act, but she only gets superficial feel-good comedies. (And Star Trek) Why is this? Too little interest in African Americans in more ambitious movies? She's too old? Her butt's too fat? Whatever the answer is, it doesn't seem to speak well about our society.
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
I feel sorry for Jake Lloyd. He had to be Anikin in Star Wars. Poor kid.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Despite Uncle Orson's claims to the contrary, I'm not convinced the kid has any acting talent. I think it's just possible Lucas writes lousy dialogue and the kid can't act.
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
Possibly. But it's hard to tell with the movie being that bad. Grrr...George Lucas...grrr...Peter Jackson...
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
Whoopie Goldberg seems to have a bad case of the imposter complex.
In other words, she simply can't beleive that she has enough talent and selling power to be picky about what scripts she accepts. Her standard line when asked why she did "Fatal Beauty"etc. is that there simply isn't a pile of scripts falling at her feet.
I think she should go back to doing Fontaine or work out some new characters, and go back to broadway.
Posted by Kirst (Member # 5967) on :
I really liked mission to mars personally. I thought the plot was really good, and I liked the ending (although the alien looked kind of cheesy)
Whoopy Goldberg has been in a few good ones, but not all that many.
I feel sorry for anikin too, although the first movie had redeeming traits aka jar jar.
Posted by Rhaegar The Fool (Member # 5811) on :
LXG I love Sean Connery, but that movie sucked.
Posted by BrianM (Member # 5918) on :
Truly good actors do not sign onto bad scripts and crappy screenplays.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
Icky, the tv guide channel had it labeled wrong. It was the same movie the whole way through, but still very strange and rambling.
Ni!
Posted by Wussy Actor (Member # 5937) on :
quote: Truly good actors do not sign onto bad scripts and crappy screenplays.
Brian. Name one actor in Hollywood (since the thread is about movies ) who hasn't done a bad script. My point was that there are some actors who do way more than their fair share.
Posted by BrianM (Member # 5918) on :
Guess there are none eh? Oh wait, does Tobor count?
Posted by Wussy Actor (Member # 5937) on :
There are loads of truly good actors in Hollywood. Including Tobor.
Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
How about this? Two very competent actors.
One very horrible movie.
Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman in Ishtar. Posted by prolixshore (Member # 4496) on :
Ishtar is the ultimate bomb movie.
Posted by Lime (Member # 1707) on :
Dustin Hoffman in Sphere. I just saw it last night on FX... it was horrific, especially since I loved the book so much. The first part was pretty cool, but there were several scenes that were either misacted or misdirected. And the composer must not have been watching the same movie when he wrote the music. Talking to Jerry should have been creepy, not boring.
It just made me want to read the book really badly, but I can't find it.
[ December 02, 2003, 02:40 PM: Message edited by: Lime ]
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I think I'm the only one who liked Sphere. I really did. Maybe, though, it was just the jellyfish scene.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Janeane Garofalo. And Eddie Murphy, since his voice talent proves he can still be hilarious, he just can't do a live action movie anymore.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Cate Blanchett, Billy Bob Thornton, and Bruce Willis in Bandits . What did this movie have in common with Zoolander and Paint your wagon? Hmmm.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I like Janeane G, but "great actor" doesn't exactly come to mind. Mystery men is one of my all time favorites.
Posted by Chandani (Member # 5879) on :
John Q. You know a movie is outrageously stinky when even Denzel Washington can't save it.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I must go back and say Sean Connery is probably the worst at picking movies.
For every Untouchables, there is a Highlander or two.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Harrison Ford in Hollywood Homicide.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Sean Connery, in Highlanders 1 and 2, proved that he had great talent for semi-comedic rolls. He provided most, if not all, of the comedy relief in those movies.
Am I the only one who actually liked Highlander 2?
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
Liam Neeson is a good actor, but he's been in some real stinkers. The Haunting. That one where he's in a bar fight while handcuffed to Patrick Swayze. Mmm, That one where he was on a table full of watermelon, mostly naked...
What's this thread about again?
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
"Am I the only one who actually liked Highlander 2?"
Probably.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
Ben Kingsley in Spooky House. I just saw the ads, but I think it's safe to assume.
Posted by Wussy Actor (Member # 5937) on :
This is off topic but, YOU ACTUALLY LIKED HIGHLANDER 2!? Was it Michael Ironsides or the flying monkeys that did it for you?
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
To be honest with you, I barely even remember the plot. I believe I first watched it in elementary school, and the cheeziness factor was so off the charts that it really appealed to me.
I do remember that they made the immortals into an alien race or something, which in retrospect I really hate. I'm glad they remedied the situation in the Highlander tv series (which kicks ass) by completely disregarding the second movie.
And hey, if you can't appreciate a good flying monkeys action sequence, then there's something seriously wrong with you.
[ December 02, 2003, 11:42 PM: Message edited by: Fitz ]
Posted by Wussy Actor (Member # 5937) on :
There's no question that there's something seriously wrong with me, but good god man, that movie was terrible.
Then again, when I was a kid, I thought the A-Team was high class.
Posted by Book (Member # 5500) on :
You know Sean Connery was offered the role of Gandalf? I think we should all thank God that he didn't jump at it.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
quote: That one where he's in a bar fight while handcuffed to Patrick Swayze. Mmm, That one where he was on a table full of watermelon, mostly naked...
Sad to say I saw both of these. I loved the part where the hillbillies attacked the Chicago Mafioso with a bus full of snakes. Seriously, there was this maudlin scene of the hillbillies saying goodbye to their women. It had the same feel as the shots of the Rohan women and children in TTT. But I can't remember the title. It also had Ben Stiller in it, as one of the mafiosos.
...mostly naked except for a gun that he wasn't holding... ick.
Okay, what I dug this thread up to add:
Peter O'Toole in "King Ralph". I have to say this was also a low point for John Goodman.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
I think it was John Candy in King Ralph?
Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
What? King Ralph is John Goodman.
Posted by Javert (Member # 3076) on :
Nope, John Goodman.
And, as an actor myself, I must defend that not all bad movies look like crap when you first read the script. So you can't put the blame completely on the actor for being in a bad film.
And sometimes, sometimes, it is necessary to do a bad film just to get a paycheck or just to get your face out there. At least thats just my opinion.
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Oh wait, does Tobor count?
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